Chapter 1 - Social Dimension of S&T

Question 1

Study about the universe; Refers to the body of knowledge utilized to understand the world.

Answer 1

Science

Question 2

A product of science; The process of harnessing resources to respond to society’s needs.

Answer 2

Technology

Question 3

Refers to an autonomous group of people; Interacting with others (distinct geographic territory); Sharing a common culture.

Answer 3

Society

Question 4

The way of thinking and material objects form the people’s way of life.

Answer 4

Culture

Question 5

How people manage to utilize their resources; To meet people’s needs; Physical Environment.

Answer 5

Diversity of Culture

Question 6

Aspects of Culture: (2)

Answer 6

1. Material Culture
2. Nonmaterial Culture

Question 7

Concrete and tangible things that people create and attach meaning; Houses, Transportation, Goods, etc.

Answer 7

Material Culture

Question 8

Abstract and intangible objects; Habit, Traditions, Customs, Beliefs, etc.

Answer 8

Nonmaterial Culture

Question 9

Technology is — —– to modern technology.

Answer 9

Not Equal

Question 10

Interdisciplinary field that studies the conditions under which the production, distribution, and utilization of scientific knowledge and technological systems occur; The consequences of these activities upon different groups of people.

Answer 10

Science, Technology, and Society (STS)

Question 11

Perspectives in the Analysis of Society and Culture (Sociology): (3)

Answer 11

1. Symbolic Interactionist
2. Structural Functionalist
3. Conflict Analysis

Question 12

Society - Made up of individuals who interact with each other using symbols with corresponding meanings.
Social Problems - Caused by different symbols and their meanings.

Ex:
- Symbols have meanings for people in society based on their respective cultures. (E.g., Wood turns into a cross, making it sacred.)
- Own perspective of reality; Own way of understanding or perceiving things.

Answer 12

Symbolic Interactionist

Question 13

Society - Made up of interrelated systems/institutions with corresponding functions.
Social Problems - Caused by a dysfunction in one of the systems which affect all other systems.

Structure -> Order -> Stability

Answer 13

Structural Functionalist

Question 14

Society - Made up of conflicting groups with unequal levels of power, wealth, and prestige.
Social Problems - Caused by the exploitation of the inferior group by the dominant group.

Ex.
- Views property as a result of exploitation of the lower class (workers) by the powerful class (capitalists).

Power -> Abuse -> Controlling Order

Answer 14

Conflict Analysis

Question 15

Specific Views on the Relationship Between S&T and Society: (3)

Answer 15

1. Technological Somnambulism
2. Technological Determinism
3. Social Construction of Technology

Question 16

Denies the various ways by which technology provides structure and meaning for human life; Explored by Langdon Winner, a political scientist.

Humans -making/using-> Technology
Note: Man is a passive user of technology.

Answer 16

Technological Somnambulism

Question 17

Viewed as the main determinist of a society’s history and the driving force of its culture; Coined by Thorstein Veblen, an American Sociologist and Economist.

Technology -> Culture/History
Note: Technology determines the kind of society.

Ex.
- Agricultural tools has seen the gradual loss of knowledge of traditional means of farming.
- Guns changed how disputes were sorted out and changed the face of combat.
- Mobile phones changed the way people communicate.
- Discovery of nuclear energy: Future wars will be fought with nuclear arsenal.

Answer 17

Technological Determinism

Question 18

Emphasizes the importance of social context in the development of new technologies viewed as a product of social processes involving several social groups; Arose as a contrasting view to technological determinism introduced by Wiebe Bijker and Trevor Pinch in 1984.

Note: Society will dictate what technology will be developed.

Ex.
- Computerization of election was a political demand by the society.
- Development of more alternative sources of energy was a result of society’s social value.
- LRTs and MRTs and other mass problems.

Answer 18

Social Construction of Technology

Question 19

Complex process wherein both technology and society negotiate the meaning of new technologies; then make changes to technology through resistance; and lastly construct social and technological frameworks, actions, and practices.

Answer 19

Technological Innovation